The Party:
DM: Geokhan
Day 1:
- Our objective was to find a specific orc that had killed people. Hunting that orc would appease a spectre (I didn’t question it at the time).
- Orc had crown before but no longer has crown. Katla and Ithrael also met exploding orcs before.
- We went southwest towards Forest of Thorns and Serpent River.
Heard music at crossroads to southwest. Saw fine rugs and furniture, aromatic pastries and drink and music came from music box. Seemed to like tea party of sorts, but noone was there. Others thought there were fey and curious. Possible. Personally, I was not interested, but I complied with their curiosities. Katla approached, and the music box stopped. Katla took a book from the table magically. It had no title with a red leather bound cover. I tried detecting it for magic. It was not magical. Katla opened it up and saw history of elves. He decided to hold onto it.
Another book was found that was titled “To Serve Man.” It was a cooking manual.
In the evening, humanoid creatures dressed in white were seen. One of them held a baby apparently made of flesh. It pulled out a blade of some sort, so we decided to fight. Naturally, they were weak to fire. We also fought birds and snakes. The baby disappeared, so it could have been an illusion.
Description of paper warrior shown below.
“The creature appears to be an armed and armored human warrior, but it is made entirely of folded paper.”
Saw crouching figures that were furry and dressed in thin attires. They mentioned the paper warriors used illusion magic to trick enemies. While they talked, I killed the wild bird and snake that had been put to sleep by Alister’s spell since I almost died from them. I may be a druid, but I am not very gracious towards beasts that try to kill me if they’re likely to do so again if given another chance. Katla helped as well. Furry figures were hunting pulp (paper) warriors since they attacked a few of their tribe. Thanked us for slaying them. They mentioned their names, but I was distracted by killing the beasts and talking to myself in Elvish. I did hear that the orcs were somewhere to the southwestern tip of the Forest of Thorns and that they did not take prisoners!
Also, they mentioned that a fey named Oakmesh may now more about orcs that explode. Oakmesh lived in the Forest of Thorns to the north.
I later learened that Tear and Claw were what they referred to themselves, apparently.
We decided to not make a fire that night to stay secretive.
We met a man with a boar’s head over his hair. He was lost and drunk. His name was Wazelander. He had a spear named Arseslayer that killed a dragon. He touched my face, which irked me, but I did not show hostility.
Looking back over the logs, it seems this Wazelander killed a white dragon with that spear. It's no wonder that I felt intimidated by that… Arseslayer. Alister gave him a torch, and we told him directions back to Port Mirandia.
Day 2:
Saw an overturned wagon. No ambush clues could be seen. It appeared that the incident took place last night. It was possible that orcs took the wagon owners away. Sack and box was left near wagon. Saw orcish tracks towards direction that the tabaxi (furry cat people) mentioned the orcs were.
There were at least 6 tracks and 2 bodies dragged off. We followed them to a cave entrance with a tower acting as a watch post. Others mentioned vampiric flowers to watch out for that drained one’s blood… We also decided to bypass tower by making use of hole.
We fought the orcs and goblins. Goblins had poison that paralyzed me and made me fall. From what I heard, the others fought bravely but retreated due to the sheer number and might of the orcs in the cave. Katla did a lot of dodging especially. As I lay down on the ground, I felt my body getting dragged off by a goblin. As I prepared for my death, I saw from the corner of my eye the goblin get shot and fall down dead to the ground. A second later, I realised that Tear and Claw had come to help. They cured my poison, and we managed to make the orcs fall back into their cave. We also retreated at their behedst from the cave of orcs, for we realised that we were outmatched and outclassed….
Once we were fairly confident in our safety, I told the furry tabaxi (which I later realised was what they likely were):
-Xavier
“You have made yourself a weak but loyal friend, Claw and Tear.”
I felt bad that I had been distracted killing the snake and bird the other day to listen closely to what they were saying. I ensured not to make the same mistake today. They replied that their debt from us killing the paper warriors had been repaid. Claw and Tear turned into lions and bid us farewell.
The people taken by the orcs are likely dead now, but the orc cave still remains. Those who are stronger than this old fool, I beseech that you try and clear out this cave of orcs. Beware the poison that makes you paralyzed which, according to Claw, was for them to eat later. There are druidic spells that can cure such paralysis, but they are currently beyond my abilities.
-Xavier
The people taken by the orcs are likely eaten and dead now, but perhaps vengeance can be taken for them yet.
During the night, I was woken up by Ithrael since there was a metal post that gave off abjuration magic. Ithrael touched the post rather unwisely, but he didn’t get damaged. I woke up the others and told them that before going back to my trance. During my watch, the monolith didn’t do anything of note. I reflected on my weakness in the rain during the night, with not even the stars visible to console my melancholy…
Day 3:
We saw plains that had been burned as we returned to Port Mirandia. We also met a dark-furred tabaxi that the others called “Garden of Flowers.” I was still too distraught to talk much. I heard from him that the orcs enjoyed the taste of humanoid flesh, which was why they captured people. Elves have held enmity for orcs for generations, but now I have reason to hate orcs personally. Yet is this hate towards those savage orcs? Or is it hatred towards my own inability? Perhaps it is both…
Nkosi was name of the tribe of tabaxi people that Tear and Claw belonged to, it seems.
-Garden of Flowers
Dragon was mentioned that can make paper creatures, which could have made the paper warriors. They try to give back gifts to their creators. Paying this dragon a visit may be necessary, but it is hard to say exactly where it lives. Somewhere in the Serpent River to the west of the Forest of Thorns? It is possible since the paper warriors were encountered near the Forest of Thorns.
Townspeople transporting supplies told us that Wazelander managed to return to town, which is nice. We pushed on through the night to reach Port Mirandia. I was weary in my mind, so I will end this entry here.